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Knowledge, Power and Resistance (822L6)

30 credits, Level 7 (Masters)

Spring teaching

The purpose of this module is to reflect on the various ways in which power and knowledge interact within contexts of development and economic change. The module will provide you with the conceptual ideas to theorise concepts of discourse, power and resistance. It also deals with the historically and culturally contingent nature of the various meanings given to 'development', 'modernity' and 'tradition', and how these are linked to different forms of knowledge.

This module covers:

• the theoretical framework provided by the concepts of ideology, hegemony and discourse, looking at the work of Gramsci and Foucault. 
• the implications of concepts from these thinkers in analyses of development, particularly discourse theory
• the concept of resistance and what it means for development practice
• the domain of developmental knowledge 'women in development', and the ways it has been contested both by activists and academics
• the environment and the role of anthropologists who refuse to take for granted categories such as 'indigenous knowledge'
• analyses of power and culture in relation to modernity
• bureaucracies, governance, and work on neoliberal ideas of freedom, power and knowledge in the production of policy and bureaucratic structures
• how Foucault's work directs anthropological attention to the production of the self within development projects
• how different forms of knowledge, power and culture interrelate within contexts of colonial and post-colonial intervention and development 
• the various ways in which local people imagine and represent development and modernity
• the benefits of an 'actor network' approach to development, and how it might take us beyond a focus on 'discourse'. 

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 300 hours of work. This breaks down into about 33 hours of contact time and about 267 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2024/25. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum.

We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.